Highway maintaining device



1943. E. J. GUERNSEY HIGHWAY MAINTAINING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORNEYS March so, 1943. ,5, E NSEY I 2,314,934

HIGHWAY MAINTAINING DEVICE Filed Sept. 19 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 30-, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HIGHWAY MAINTAINING DEVICE Earle J. Guernsey, Parker, S. Dak. Application September 19, 1941, Serial No. 411,585

2 Claims.

. This invention relates to highway ice breakers, and its general object is to provide a device that is primarily designed for breaking up ice and packed snow on streets, paved roads and the like to allow ready removal thereof, but the device can be used in the process of surfacing gravel roads, in that it includes bladed rotary means for cutting and breaking up ice, etc., as well as for mixing and leveling loose road building material in building and maintaining gravel and like roads.

A further object is to provide a device of the character set forth that is designed for attachment to suitable means for propelling the same along the highway, such as a truck, grader patrol or other highway motorized maintaining machine, and .the bladed rotary means of the device can be raised and lowered relative to the highway by hydraulic hoisting means, the latter being under the constant control of the operator while the device is being propelled along the roadway, thus making it possible to eliminate damage to paved streets and highways, when removing ice therefrom.

Another object is to provide a highway maintaining device that is simple in construction, inexpensive to manufacture, and extremely eflicient in operation, use and service.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my device attached to a truck.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the device per se.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximate- 1y on line 33 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken approximately on line 4-4 of Figure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows. I

Figure 5.is a partial diagrammatic view illustrating the fluid system and associated elements of the hoisting apparatus. I

Figure 6 is a detail view of the toothed blade to be used with my device on gravel roads and the like, during the process of building or maintaining the same.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the letter A indicates the front portion of a motor truck to which my device is shown as being attached, to be propelled thereby along a highway, but the device can be attached to any motorized road building or maintaining machine, as previously indicated. v v

In any event, the device in the form shown includes a substantially, U -shaped attaching frame I that has the arm thereof pivotally connected to the chassis of the truck, and fixed to the arms adjacent their outer ends are one of the ends of a pair of parallel side members 2 of the drum frame which includes cross members 3 secured to and bridging the side members,as best shown in Figure 2.

While the device can be made to include one or more bladed drums, the form shown includes three drums disposed in tandem arrangement, and each drum comprises a hollow cylindrical body 4 having formed on or otherwise secured thereto and about the ends of the cylindrical portion thereof, substantially U-shaped attach-' ing brackets 5 providinglugs 6. The brackets are spaced from each other for receiving cutting blades 1 between the lugs of adjacent brackets, as best shown in Figure 1, while Figure 2 clearly shows that the brackets are arranged out of alignment with each other for disposing the blades at an angle to the axis of the body. That arrangement prevents the blades from becoming caught in expansion joints in concrete and like paving. The blades are secured to the lugs by bolt and nut connections 8 and the bolts bridge the space or seats for the blades, and the latter are provided with slots 9 along the length thereof for receiving the bolts, as clearly shown in Figure 4. The slots materially facilitate the application and removal of the blades, yetcasual removal or displacement is practically impossible.

While the inner edge of the blades are substantially flat to bear against the drum, the outer edges are beveled .to provide cutting means.

Fixed to the side walls of the body 4 are cruciform strip-like reinforcing'members l0 having formed centrally thereon and extending outwardly therefrom stub shafts 4 that are reduced to provide annular shoulders and spindles l2, the latter being mounted in bearings I3 disposed within housings l4 formed on and extending laterally from the side members 2, as best shown in Figure 4. Bearing retainers and dust plates I5 are secured to the side members for disposal between the same and the shoulders.

From Figure 2 it will be noted that the middle drum is arranged so that the blades thereof are disposed at an angle opposing that of the blades of the end drums.

thereof, and the angular arrangement of the blades tends to direct the broken pieces laterally of the drums, as the latter are being rotated along the highway.

The hoisting apparatus includes a rectangular plate like supporting platform l6 that includes rearwardly directed strip members I! fixed to the underside of the truck body for the platform to extend a considerable distance forwardly of the front end of the body, and the sides of the platform are formed with downturned reinforcing flanges i8 throughout the length thereof. Fixed to the top of the platform at the forward end thereof and adjacent to its side edges is a pair of uprights I9 that extend toward each other in diverging relation and terminate at their upper ends into ears 2!] having mounted therein a pivot pin 2| for a lever 22, the pin providing the fulcrum for the lever and is disposed adjacent the inner end thereof, as clearly shown in Figure 1.

I That arrangement results in breaking ice in small pieces, to facilitate removal Pivotally connected to the outer end of the lever by a bolt and nut connection 23 are the upper ends of depending coupling and lifting arms 24 that include diverging upper portions and .parallel lower portions 25, the latter having their lower ends pivotally connected to the side members 2 substantially midway the ends thereof.

Fixed to the platform is a hydraulic hoisting jack 26 having secured to the upper end of the piston rod thereof a fork 21 that has the inner end of the lever pivotally connected to and between the bifurcations thereof, and disposed between the base of the fork and the lever is a coil spring 28 which is held in place by studs 29.

In order to operate the jack for raising and lowering the drums, through the medium of the lever, arms 24 and side members 2, I .provide a rotary pump 30 for pumping fluid to and from the jack cylinder to act upon either side of the piston 3| thereof. A valve is provided for controlling the direction of flow of the fluid to the cylinder, the core of the valve being shown, and it is provided with four straight fluid passages, indicated respectively by the reference numerals 32, 33, 34 and 35, and an arcuate fluid passage 36. Pipe lines 31 and 38 extend between the valve and. the pump and pipe lines 39 and 40 extend between the valve and the cylinder, the pipe line 39 communicating with the cylinder at its upper end, while the pipe line 40 communicates with the cylinder at its lower end. An operating handle is of course provided for rotating the valve core, and from Figure 5, it will be obvious when the passages 32 and 33 register with the pipe lines, and the pump is operating, the fluid is being pumped into the upper end of'the cylinder and from the lower end thereof. When the passages 34 and 35 register with the pipe lines, the fluid is being pumped into the lower end of the cylinder and from the upper end thereof. The passage 36 is disposed for registration with the pipe lines 31 and 38 only, and when in registration therewith, the fluid merely circulates through the pump, the pipe lines 31 and 38 and the valve, and as the other passages are out of registration with the pipe lines at that time, it will be obvious that the piston is held against movement for holding the drums accordingly, and the latter in any adjusted position relative to the roadway, or in other words in a completely raised or lowered position or any intermediateposition.

In view of the fact that the drums are hollow,

the weight thereof can be varied by the use of sand, water or other fluid, and for that purpose, I provide an opening in the cylindrical portion of each drum for the passage of sand or fluid therein or therefrom, and the opening is closed by a threaded plug 4 l In Figure 6 I have illustrated one of the toothed blades 42 that are interchangeable with the blades 1, and when the blades 42 are applied to the drums, the device is used in the process of surfacing gravel roads or the like and specifically for mixing and leveling loose road material, as the device is being propelled along the roadway.

The blade 42 includes a narrow body having wide end portions 43 for disposal between the lugs 6, and slots 44 are provided in the wide end portions to receive the bolts of the bolt and nut connections 8, for securing the blades 42 to the drums in exactly the same manner as the blades 1. A row of teeth 45 are secured to the body of the blade 42, along the narrow portion thereof, and the teeth terminate at their outer ends into penetrating points.

From the above description and disclosure of the drawings, it is believed that the use of my device will be obvious, but it might be mentioned that as the device is being propelled along the highway, the blades of the drums bring about rotation thereof by engagement with ice or, the likeon the highway, when the device is being used as an ice breaker, or directly with the highway when used in the process of surfacing the latter, and the drums can be raised and lowered by the hoisting apparatus, merely by operating the valve thereof.

It is thought from the foregoing description that the advantages and novel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising an elongated rectangular frame, cylindrical drums mounted for rotation in said frame, blades carried by the outer periphery of the drums, a U-shaped frame secured to the rear end of the elongated frame and provided with openings for pivotally connecting the same to the chassis of a motor vehicle, a rectangular frame having rearwardly extending arms provided with means for attaching the same to the motor vehicle above the first mentioned frame, upwardly extending brackets carried by the forward end of the frame, a lever intermediately pivoted between said brackets, means carried by the second mentioned frame and connected to the inner end of the lever for raising and lowering the same, and a link pivotally connected to the outer end of the intermediately pivoted lever and comprising through the upper end of the cylinder with itsupper end pivotally connected to the inner end of the intermediately pivoted lever, and a. link pivotally connected to the outer end of the intermediately pivoted lever and comprising arms adapted to be pivotally connected to the side bars of the first, mentioned frame.

. EARLE J. GUERNSEY. 

